“True Intentions”
When making a tough decision, ask yourself what you would do if all parties involved knew your true intentions and your true desires.
Imagine you lived in a world where everyone could tell if you were speaking the truth, or lying, or hiding something. What actions would you take then?
Asking this question leads you to see what is truly in your heart.
That should help you make the right decision.
“My Obituary”
Not to be too morbid, but this decision making technique really works.
If you are having trouble making a decision, or you have no idea about which direction to take, try this:
Ask yourself, what would I want to be remembered for, after I’m dead and long gone? What would I want my obituary to say?
In fact, write your own obituary right now, just to see what it is you are all about.
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Posted in Talent and Career
If you want to negotiate the best deal for yourself going into a job, do as I say, not as I do.
When the Free Press asked me whether I wanted a job, I immediately yelled, “Yes!”
Not very cool, I know.
And I quickly slammed any door I had for negotiating. Fortunately, I was treated pretty well anyway. Now, I tell people (even people I make offers to) not to accept instantly.
A little about the dynamics of hiring: Between the time when a company offers you a job and you accept, you have leverage.
Inside the company, a bunch of people have met and decided that you are the person, out of a handful of candidates, whom they want to hire. The person who makes the call is expected to get your acceptance. They do not want to reconvene, go to the next candidate or re-ignite their search.
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Posted in Talent and Career
Job interviewing can be an unnerving experience, but if you know how to handle some of the stickiest situations encountered in interviewing, you can be that much more confident. Here are 10 of the stickiest.
1. The Bad Interviewer. Not every professional who conducts job interviews with candidates knows how to conduct an interview effectively. In fact some are downright lousy at it. A bad interviewer might be unfocused, disinterested, unprepared. He or she might dominate the interview by doing all the talking or might ask inappropriate and illegal questions.
The unfocused, unprepared interviewer probably hasn’t read your resume and maybe can’t even find a copy. This hapless soul doesn’t even know what to ask you. Be sure to offer this disorganized interviewer a copy of your resume while asking, “May I take you through some highlights of my career?”
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Posted in Talent and Career
On paper, the prescription for unemployment is rather formulaic: send in résumé, go on interview, be your charming self, get hired.
The frustrating reality isn’t nearly as simple. Getting an interview alone is an exercise in persistence and patience.
Here are 10 reasons for why you’re not landing that interview and what you can do to reverse the trend.
Your résumé and cover letter are as articulate as Courtney Love’s Web blog. If your application materials contain typos, grammatical errors and irrelevant or inconsistent information, employers will take notice — in a bad way. Once you’ve looked over your résumé and cover letter to the point of dementia, take this advice from Joyce Gioia of the Herman Group: have three people, for whom English is a first language, review your résumé and cover letter before you send it.
Your cover letter is generic. Make it personal by tailoring it to the particular job and addressing it to a person, not “To Whom It May Concern.” And include a sentence or two about how you are the right fit for that particular job. If no contact is listed, take the initiative to find out who the hiring manager is by searching the company’s Web site or calling the reference desk.
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Posted in Talent and Career
